Now in its sixth year, the Northern Literary Festival returns to the University of Central Lancashire in Preston on Saturday 19th July 2025, offering a whole day packed with bookish events by working closely with publishers, agents, and authors.
On offer are panels, workshops, and activities throughout the day and stalls to browse, the event split into sessions aimed at Kids, Young Adults, and Adults. General admission is just £3. Do note you are asked to book in advance for each panel you would like to attend – full programme here. You won’t be admitted to any session without your general admission ticket.
The heart of this Festival is to nurture a vibrant literary community in the North West. Through interactive workshops, author panels, and industry insights our goal is to inspire the next generation of storytellers, ensuring that the literary landscape of the North West continues to flourish.
Guests include writer Rik Worth and illustrator Jordan Collver as part of the KidsLitFest programme strand, who plan to deliver a fun and interactive session, Bringing History to Life, focused on their new book, Pets Tell Ancient History Tales, exploring how comics can bring history to life.
After a short introduction to comic storytelling, participants will be invited to create their own four-panel comics based on fascinating historical facts, like the secret life of an ancient Egyptian pet or the challenges of a Tudor toilet attendant.
No drawing experience needed, just imagination! The session will be followed by a signing. Book your place here.
Rik Worth is a writer from the north of England who has always loved comics. He is best known for the Eisner-nominated Hocus Pocus, which explores the history of science, the paranormal and illusion. He is also the author of The Creators of Batman: Bob, Bill and the Dark Knight, a biography of the people behind Batman and their place in comic book history. As a journalist, he covered a wide range of subjects for the likes of The Independent, Prospect, Byline Times and Fortean Times. He is fascinated with why people believe in unusual things and the odder side of history. He currently works at the University of Leeds, where he can be found deep in the library, pondering many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore…
Jordan Collver is a Canadian illustrator living in Bristol, UK. He specialises in using the power and possibilities of comics to tell non-fiction stories. He has a masters in science communication from The University of The West of England, where he now delivers occasional lectures. He co-created the Eisner Award-nominated comic series Hocus Pocus and works with scientists, historians, educators and magicians to visualize complex ideas for everyone to enjoy.
In Pets Tell Tales: Ancient Egypt, published by Wren & Book on 17th July, animals of the past are here to tell you the real deal when it comes to Ancient Egypt – the pyramids, mummies, and pharoahs?
Animals were kind of a big deal to the Ancient Egyptians so you might learn a thing or two, starting with the Pharoahs. Oh, boy. Did you know there were seven Cleopatras?! And eleven Ramesses?
Rik and Jordan talk about the really good stuff, like baboon guards, mummified cats, and sacred poop-pushers. This true comic book will keep every reader glued to the page as they discover life in Ancient Egypt!
Here are some sample pages…
Festival Line-up offers a host to author events
The full Festival offers different panels, workshops and activities throughout the day and stalls to engage with. Do note you need to register to attend your preferred sessions.
Sessions for Young Adults (NYALitFest – The Northern Young Adult Literary Festival) include Colm Field’s Horror Writing Guide, a session led by the horror writer to discuss different types of horror stories (Slasher, Psychological, etc), before moving onto the Types of Scares (Jumps, Repulsion etc). Finally, you will discuss Stephen King’s 3 Hierarchies of Fear (Gross Out, Horror, and Terror). The final exercise is to describe a terrifying scene or story that fits with his highest grade – Terror.
Alongside the session from Rik and Jordan, the KIDSLitFest (Kids Literary Festival) events include “Wrong Tracks”, a session with children’s book author Susan Brownrigg. Discover how real life people, places and stories inspire her writing. Plus, “Magic, Myths and Mayhem” features authors Ashley Thorpe (The Boy to Beat the Gods and Spirit Warriors), Jennifer Claessen (The Month of Magic Trilogy and Netta Becker and the Timeline Crime) and Liz Flanagan (Wildsmith series and The Legends of the Skyseries), who’ll chat about mythology and how they have used this for inspiration for their own stories. Uncover the magic of myths and storytelling.
This year also sees the advent of a new adult reader programme. “Something Witchy This Way Comes” invites you to enter into the world of witchcraft in literature with Liz Flanagan, Harriett de Mesquita (The Magickal Summer of Evie Edelman), and Jennifer Lane (The Witches Survival Guide). Explore how these authors challenge our perceptions and reflect on the power of nature and intuition. “Pointing North” discusses putting northern people and places onto the page. Join authors Zoë Richards, Andrea Christodoulou and Suzanne Ewart as they discuss the importance of cultural and class representation in fiction.
• Northern Literary Festival 2025 9.00am – 6.00pm Saturday 19th July 2025, The Harrington Building, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2HE | Entry Fee: £3 | Official Web Page | Book Your Place Here
Please register for general admission to access the venue. Then register for each panel you wish to attend via the panel descriptions on the event page. You won’t be admitted to any session without your general admission ticket.
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Books, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, Other Worlds
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